I Ended My Engagement With The Woman Who Despised Me

✦  Chapter 8  ✦

「Translator — Creator」

᠃ ⚘᠂ ⚘ ⚘ ᠂ ⚘ ᠃

The second Invasion.

Compared to the first Invasion, where monsters had poured out of the Rift en masse, this event saw an even greater number of creatures descending upon the land.

In the original story, this event was described as a hellish catastrophe — a tragedy so devastating that the people of the North lost all hope and fell into utter despair.

However, it was also the moment when the protagonist, Dale, happened to arrive by chance and saved the North from total annihilation. Barely clinging to survival, they managed to endure.

Destruction.

Despair.

A glimmerless future.

The words used to describe this event in the novel were overwhelmingly bleak. Yet, ironically, the true meaning behind them boiled down to one thing—

'They survived, nevertheless.'

No matter how dire their condition, the North did not fall. They endured the second rift and withstood the invasion. That was the story — a tale of survival against insurmountable odds.

And it was through this tragedy that the protagonist formed a fateful bond with Elysia, marking the beginning of their intertwined destinies.

𓆩♱𓆪

A festival was being held in the North —

— not to celebrate survival, but to honor the dead and to give those who remained a reason to keep moving forward.

It was less a festival and more akin to a funeral. Yet even the funeral lacked the solemnity of mourning, instead resembling a gathering meant to comfort the living.

As the celebration for those still alive carried on, the protagonist, Dale, who had played a vital role in the recent war, stepped forward; the crowd erupted into cheers, blessing him for his heroism.

Though he too was an outsider, unlike me, he had earned everyone's affection, perhaps because he had directly saved them during the war. The contrast between us was hard to ignore, a fact I found strangely unsettling. Still, it didn’t matter. All that mattered to me was Elysia’s recognition.

Just then, as I was about to leave, someone pointed at me and shouted, "You, you piece of trash! My parents died because of you!"

A drunken man stumbled forward, jabbing a finger at me.

He trampled the flowers I had created while pointing accusingly at me, then hurled his crude liquor bottle in my direction.

The bottle, thrown with unsteady hands, missed me and shattered against the ground.

Perhaps it was because the snow had melted, exposing the cobblestones underneath, that the bottle splintered so easily. Shards of glass scattered in all directions, glinting under the light.

“...............”

Just a few months ago, even crude glass bottles were considered luxury items in the North, too precious to throw away so carelessly. Watching the shards glisten, I realized just how much life had improved since then.

But before I could dwell on it, more voices began to rise around me.

"My mother... my mother died."

"My husband died because of you... sob Bring him back! Bring him back!"

"You worthless scum, how dare you show your face here?"

Blame requires no truth.

It only needs someone to bear it.

These people, seemingly manipulated by the North's political machinations, had already branded me the culprit and were throwing food and objects at me.

It was ironic.

Like the glass bottles, just months ago most of these people had been starving, lacking such food. Now it had become so commonplace that they used it freely to express their hatred.

'...Hah.'

A bitter laugh escaped me as my emotions dulled. A wave of exhaustion and futility swept over me, threatening to crush what little resolve I had left.

But it was fine. None of this mattered.

From the very beginning, everything I had done was for Elysia.

Swallowing the nausea rising in my throat, I forced my emotions back down and calmed my mind. Ignoring the jeers and insults, I turned and made my way toward Elysia’s office.

‘It’s fine. As long as Elysia understands, that’s enough.’

Since she was the only reason I endured, there was no need to waste emotions on meaningless things.

Suppressing the overwhelming wave of despair threatening to consume me, I opened the door to Elysia’s office.

And she greeted me with a cold, emotionless expression.

"I would prefer if you stopped visiting from now on."

"...Why?"

"Would you like the political reason or the personal one?"

That wasn't what mattered.

As I felt something gradually snapping in my mind, I brought up a pitiful excuse.

"...I made the North warm, just as we promised."

I wanted to ask her — Didn’t we have an agreement? Didn’t you promise to look at me, to truly see me?

"While I'm grateful for that, someone else would have eventually accomplished it even if it weren't you."

She pushed me away with an expression that suggested she knew nothing of such promises. At that moment, I felt all connections severing, making my head spin.

As I stood there frozen, like a blade twisting in the wound, she added, “Also, I’ve felt this way for some time, but please stop clinging to me under the guise of being my fiancé. You're becoming a nuisance."

"...Hah."

I let out a bitter laugh, unable to stop myself. The absurdity of the situation was too much.

Loraine, noticing my unstable state, stepped forward. 

She tugged at my sleeve gently, her voice soft and cautious.

“…Young master, let’s leave for now.”

The anger that had burned within me moments ago suddenly cooled, replaced by an eerie calm. I nodded silently, letting her guide me as I turned to leave.

As I stepped into the hallway, I saw him — the protagonist — standing in front of the office door.

"..............."

How should I react?

No, I didn't even want to react.

As I ignored him and passed by, he entered the office as if he'd been waiting, closing the door behind him.

‘He must’ve heard everything.’

Which meant he had entered deliberately, knowing full well I was her fiancé. As I was about to move forward, finding amusement in the absurdity of it all, I heard voices from inside the office.

— "Hehe, thank you. Thanks to you, hope has returned to the North."

— "No, no, what did I do? It's thanks to everyone fighting so hard..."

— "As a token of gratitude, though it's modest, I prepared a bouquet. I hope you like it."

— "Ah, thank you! It's really beautiful!"

Flowers don't bloom in the North due to its harsh environment.

In other words, the bouquet Elysia gave to the protagonist must have been made using the flowers I had created.

The realization was like a final blow, severing the last thread that had kept me tethered.

Without stopping, I kept walking forward, leaving it all behind.

As I walked forward in silence, Loraine frantically tried to add words of comfort.

"Y-young master, please don't be too disappointed. Lady Elysia probably had to act that way because if she became politically involved with you, she might lose her position in the succession..."

What difference did that make?

Her words were meaningless.

I ignored her entirely, my mind replaying Elysia’s hateful expression over and over as I kept moving forward.

𓆩♱𓆪

The councils and trials, temporarily suspended during the second Invasion, had resumed once again. I stood before the Northern people — fewer in number than before, but with even more hostile expressions.

Unlike last time, the situation had spiraled completely out of control, with public opinion overwhelmingly demanding my punishment.

Even those who had been cautiously observing seemed to have shifted toward condemning me.

In short, though they knew the truth, most displayed hostility toward me to avoid going against the tide. I looked at Elysia, who sat expressionlessly at the front.

Judging by her position in the highest seat, Leicreek Wintraven — the Archduke of the North and family head — appeared to be absent from the meeting.

As the gathered figures glared at me, I scanned their faces, quickly assessing their strength and influence and closed my eyes.

...I had sacrificed everything to win just one person's heart.

My pride, my reputation, my worth, even my future.

Yet all I received in return was a hate-filled response and a gaze that declared she would never acknowledge someone like me.

I sneered at that look which told me everything had been futile.

I finally realized she never had any intention of understanding me, no matter what I did.

"Then let us begin the trial."

Those who no longer bothered to hide their intentions began spewing heated arguments, picking apart my every action. Since picking apart my actions meant they had no actual evidence, it was simply a repeated exercise in tearing me down.

There was neither structure nor logic to it.

I closed my eyes, looking up at the ceiling.

If she had listened to me just once... no, if she had treated me fairly like she did others, could our ending have been different?

For a fleeting moment, I imagined a future that would never come to pass.

But that vision dissolved as quickly as it had come, leaving me with the same hollow truth. It was all meaningless.

I broke the silence.

"Elysia. Won't you at least hear what I have to say?"

The room fell silent at my words, all eyes focusing on Elysia and me.

She looked at me and answered in a subdued voice, "It would be meaningless."

"So you won't even listen to my side, let alone try to understand the context of what happened."

"..............."

Even in these final moments, I pleaded pathetically for her to hear me out, but she merely stood there, looking down at me.

The moment I saw those emotionless eyes, I felt an overwhelming sense of emptiness and used words I had never dared speak in her presence before.

"Then get lost, you bitch."

There was no need to hold back anymore.

I took out the small hammer I had been carrying and hurled it toward Elysia.

I wasn’t foolish enough to kill her outright; if I did, the Archduke of the North — a Swordmaster, no less — would hunt me down and ensure I wouldn’t live to see another day. Instead, I aimed slightly to the side, letting the hammer smash into the wall beside her.

Crack—

Perhaps due to my brutal training over the years combined with continuously drinking elixirs, the hammer penetrated deeply into the solid stone wall, embedding itself there.

I brushed off my clothes expressionlessly and spoke.

"I will formally submit this case to the central court. The truth will be properly revealed there."

The key figures who had risen to attack me when I threw the hammer fell silent at these words, seemingly realizing something had gone wrong.

I met their uneasy gazes before turning to the protagonist sitting at the witness stand. Gripping the mace in my hand tightly, I strode toward him. Without hesitation, I swung.

CRASH—!

Though the sudden attack caught him off guard, he was indeed the protagonist — managing to avoid a fatal blow while falling to the ground. Watching this, I swung my mace casually and continued.

"You shouldn't mess with another man's fiancée. Besides, aren't you just a commoner?"

I never thought I'd be spouting lines worthy of a third-rate villain.

Though crude, it was more entertaining than I expected, and I brought the mace down on the protagonist again.

Of course, he would easily dodge an attack of this level.

Thanks to Loraine stepping forward and pinning down the protagonist with her foot, I was able to land a solid hit with the mace.

"Arghhhh!"

I smirked as the mace connected with the protagonist's groin, then tossed it to the floor and said, "Let's go."

"Yes."

As we left, I ran my hand through my hair and glanced back one last time at Elysia.

Her face was a mixture of shock and panic — a far cry from her usual cold composure. Oddly, I didn’t feel sadness or regret seeing her like that. Instead, I felt amused.

The fact that my heart had grown so numb was proof enough that I had finally reached my limit.

Well, there was nothing left for me here.

I walked away slowly, leaving behind the key figures frozen in typical Northern fashion. They wouldn't be able to stop me anyway — the moment they tried, it would become a war between noble houses. Especially now, when they had lost most of their strength due to the second Invasion.

'And most likely, they'll try to negotiate with my family to sweep this incident under the rug.'

As I stepped outside, thinking how predictably things would unfold, I noticed a carriage waiting for us. When I looked questioningly at it, Loraine patted my back and said, "I called for it."

She's surprisingly sharp at times like these.

I boarded the carriage, deciding to brew Loraine a cup of tea when we returned home.

'No need to keep it warm anymore.'

I withdrew the sun spirit's power that had been constantly draining my mental energy and lay down in the carriage. Usually, ending things this way should leave lingering anger, but all I felt was an overwhelming sense of futility and emptiness.

'I don't even know what I worked so hard for.'

I had sacrificed too much just because she had saved my life.

Though I don't regret it — after all, I did everything of my own accord.

But the results were so catastrophically bad that I felt disgusted and wanted nothing more to do with any of it.

Cold air swirled around my mouth, creating pale, hazy smoke.

Like all my remaining feelings for her were seeping out and dissipating.

I looked out the window, letting go of all my affection, fondness, and even the pity I had felt for her.

Pure white snow fell gently, accumulating everywhere.

Though this was once a common sight in the North, it felt somehow unfamiliar after so long.

'It's white.'

In this snow-covered city, I turned away expressionlessly from the sight of people looking at the snow in despair.

...Snow had begun to fall in the North once again.

END of CHAPTER

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